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Of
2*'04C
®°0/
N
/
The Big
VOLUME 41. No.i.
BIG UMBER. SWEET GHASS Ct)lJNTVpl<>NJAN \. THURSDAY, JANUARY 2,1990.
PRICE 5 CENTS
SENATOR BORAH STARTS
TUMULT OVER DRY ISSUE
President Hoover Calls In Senator To Discuss
Situation—Nothing Told Except That Dry
Law Will Soon Be Enforced
WASHINGTON, Dec. 'M.—President
Hoover is planning a shake up in prohibition enforcement personnel and
other measures of a broad character to
improve enforcement a* a reralt of re-
newed aKHation by congressional dry*,
led by Senator Horah of Idaho.
Th« measures to be taken other than
personnel changes, will be along lines
recommended by the president's law-
enforcement commission, in reports to
be issued soon after the new year.
The treasury also will submit recommendations to congress, the first of
which was announced Thursday as unifications of border patrol agencies and
limitation of ports of entry on both the
Mexican hi id Canadian borders to "bottle
up" the Ixirders.
The recent agitation came to a climax
Thursday when the president had Corah.
his staunch prohibition campaigner of a
year ago. hut now chief critic of I lie administration's policy, at the White house
for lunch. They talked about the prohibition situation, and specifically, it is
understood, about the Idaho senator's
recent sweeping condemnation of enforcement personnel.
Borah would not discuss the conference, and it was said at the White house
only that the president and the Idaho
senator had discussed prohibition. The
invitation was issued Tuesday, before
Borah made his attack on the administration, George Akerson. the president's
secretary, said. -
The meeting between tlie two men
who have drifted apart on other issues
followed the vigorous assault by Itorah
and other drys which Wednesday evoked
replies from Attorney General.Mitchellj
and Prohibition Commissioner Dorau. |
and Thursday brought an announcement j
of border enforcement plans from \s-
sistant Secretary of Treasury Mills. I
Considerable secrecy at first had been i
thrown about the luncheon conference •
between the president and Horah. It was,
learned that he had gone to the White;
house, but no announcement was made.
until in the afternoon that he had {
talked with the president. Horah de-.
clined to talk when seen at his eapitnl'
o#Jcc later. "*'
Mills said the treasury would make
its border enforcement recommomlation
to the joint congressional committee'
which is to study reorganization of cn-j
forerincnt machinery as soon as thai
committee is organized. The senate, approved this committee, and y resolution
is pending in the house.
"Instead of permitting persons to enter the United States from Canada at
any point on the international boundary
as we now do, wc should designate certain roads for entry purposes and prohibit persons from crossing the border
at any other point," Mills said. "Persons arc now required to report at the
nearest customs house, but we have to
maintain a large patrol to see that they
do so."
An agreement with Canada would be
necessary, he explained. The treasury's
plans, he added, are piratically completed and only await appointment of
the joint committee.
Senator Harris, d]cmnci-al. Georgia,
who started the agitation which ended
in Dorah's visit to the While house,
said Thursday that lie agreed with the
Idaho senator that enforcement personnel should be improved.
More money is needed for enforcement so that a higher type of men can
be employed, he said.
The Georgia senator ;isks the president, in a pending resolution, to submit
his own recommendations as to prohibition appropriations, along with a request
for a preliminary report from the law
enforcement commission.
President Hoover was defended Thurs-
Con tin tied on page three
MILL TOWN IN SCOTLAND
SCENE OF DEATH PANIC
Cry of "Fire" In Movie Show Stampedes Little
Children—Seventy-Two Trampled and
Suffocated—Others Injured
Florida Frosts Hit
Fruit Crop Severely
JACKSONVILLE. Fla.. IXc. 'J7. Severe
frost and cold wind caused damage in
some, tracking sections of the state reports to the state marketing bureau
showed Friday, beans, strawberries.
peppers, tomatoes and egg plant appeared to have been the heaviest sufferers, but the damage was not general to
the whole producing area.
The bureau's report from Plant City
said that approximately 15 per cent of
the strawberry crop had been covered
against the cold, but that of the rest,
approximately IS to 7S per cent of the
■fruit and bloom were lost. Alttnit 90
per cent of the strawlwrry crop was
killed at Starke and vicinity.
Beans in this section were virtually
wiped out, read the report from Fort
Myers, which added thai egg plants
suffered a 10 per rent loss while peppers, tomatoes and other vegetables were j
only slightly hurt.
Tender growing crops were severely
injured by the cold through a wide area.)
<fo*t the complete reports were lacking.'
Five Persons Killed
Near Amarillo, Texas
A.MAHILI.O. Texas. IKv. .10.- Five persons were killed here late Monday when
an airplane piloted by Lieut, itobert 11.
Gray crashed to earth near the Hi Merest
Country club. The dead were Lieutenant
Gray and his wife; it. L. Allison, tire
dealer: Itobert Moore, tilling station proprietor, ami C. M. Dillon.
Gray was local manager for the Texas
Transport company, and had In-en taking up passengers all day.
He had just left the ground on the
•fatal trrJr'When his plane, failing to
gain altitude, nosed downward. A large
number „f spectators were al (Ik- airport
at the time and witnessed the crash.
They rushed to the craft and found the
passengers crushed in the wreckage.
A number of persons who had previously gone up with Gray witnessed the
fatal crash of tlie giant plane. They
said they saw loose wires dangling
from the rudder soon afler I he plane
left the ground and believed the craft's
rudded line had become disabled.
Gray maneuvered the ship to an altitude <>f about 'J00 fret in an effort to
gain altitude. Then it suddenly slip|K>d
into a nose dive, turning over three
times in its downward plunge and hilling the earth flat. The crowd which
rushed to the craft found all the occupants dead except Dillon. He died in
an ambulance without regaining consciousness.
Damage to the plane was slight because of the unusual manner in which
it leveled off before crashing.
Lieutenant Gray was an rxiwricnced
pilot wlio had a distinguished record as
a World war flyer. After the war he
wcnl to Australia, returning to the
United States three years ago.
He was transferred to the airport
here from Dallas two weeks ago as
division manager. He is survived by his
molhcr and sister, who came here recently from Australia. Lieutenant Gray
and his wife also are survived by a
small son. about 15 months old.
A wire from Berkeley. Cal.. Thursday
night of last week announced the death"
of Ituth Sheridan, for many years deputy
postmaster under her mother. Mrs". A.
C. Sheridan, and at three elections a successful candidate for county clerk and
recorder. Death came after several years
of intense suffering.
Deceased was Xi years of age bnrn at
Ik-I| Cascade county. Montana, and came
here in HJfll. when the father, ,1. K. Sheridan, took charge of the Big Timber
Pioneer. February 22. I9«W. Mr. Sheridan died suddenly in the dooryard of
his home, having put the Pioneer for
that week in the post office In-fore leaving for the family residence.
1'onn bis death Mrs. Sheridan was
named postmaster for liig T>ml»cr. holding that office until she tired of the
place and resigned. H. C. I lade succeeding her.
The last year of the administration of
•lohi» E. Cameron as county clerk. APss
Sheridan left the pnslnffice and went to
the court house as deputy county cle.rU.
Iji l!t|S Mr. Cameron decided he hud sufficient of the office, and Miss Sheridan
lileil as a republican candidate. It was
the tlrst real opportunity voters of Sweet
Crass county had been given to show
their appreciation of courtesies shown
in th« post office, and in the election of
.t!:;.l iear Mis* Sheridan was an easy
winner |„ 1*20 she was again a candidate, and in ISTJ2. the only tint*, she
had real opposition, was reelected by
around fftJO majority.
I nl!)2:< her physical c<mdition became
such that sho resigned and left for
California. \\\ A. Conwell. preseut In-
i-Minbcitl, being appointed clerk and.
recorder in Dccemltcr of that year. Regaining her health in a way, she secured
a good jtosition in a California bank,
hut in time was forced to give that up.
Later she worked as cashier in a store,.
nienr her Berkeley home, but rapidly failing health comiH-lled her to resign that
place.
Deceased leaves a mother, two brothers aiidthrcr sisters in California; one
sister. Mi>. Clark MeKenzie. residing
west of Hig Timber. Another sister.
Ksthcr, died in Minnesota a short time
ago.
The remains arrived this morning
from Berkeley. Cal.. accompanied by
Mrs. \. C. Sheridan and daughter, Mrs.
Mar.y N'agle. J Requiem mass was said
at St. Joseph's church nt 10 o'clock this
morning, interment being in Mountain
View by the side of the father of deceased.
Pallbearers were A. L. Phillips. W. A.
Conwell. Alva L. Lamb. D. V. Higbie,
Clyde K. Davis and G. Hen Lamb.
PAIS1.KY. Scotland. Dec. 31.—Scventy-
tw0 small boys and girls of this Scottish
ntill town were killed and four score
nthers xerv injured in a panic which
followed a cry of "Are" in a moving
picture theater here late Tuesday afternoon. It was a black New Year's eve
for this murky community.
The children came from working class
families. They crowded into tlie 750-
seat theater, singing and' (lancing and
excited over the prospect of spending
their "Hogmanay." the traditional Scottish New- Year's treat which outshines
Christinas north of the Tweed.
Hut in a few minutes their gay laughter had given way to shrieks of terror
and agony? A whisp of smoke had come
out of the projection box of the theater.
Someone ericd "lire'' and in an instant
the hundreds of youngsters were scrambling and scratching over each other
in an effort to gel out of what proved
to Ik- a death trap.
The catastrophe quickly became a
combined reproduction of the IMS Iri-
quois theater lire in Chicago and the
IMinic at a miners' Christmas party at
Calumet, Mich., in years later. Like the
Chicago affair many of the viclmis perished through inhalation of noxious
fumes, and. like the Calumet panic,
many others met death when the rush
Montana Benefits By
Federal Highway Aid
HISTORIC OUARTERSIN WASHINGTON
ARE USED FOR PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE
WASHINGTON, Dee. 27—For
day the thirty-ant president of the
UnHed States did hit routine oafce work
in the study replete with memories of
other presidents from Adams to Roosevelt, who directed the affairs of tha
nation from where: Herbert Hoover spent
most of today at *n unfamiliar desk.
A few hundred feet away laborers
were hammering and scraping to adjust
the wreckage of the.president's office
building. The busyness was preparatory to restoring the ire ruined structure, upon Mr. Hoover's order, so that
the ease* work of the vast eaatnthr*
duties can he risanui aa aauchljr as
poulMe at the west wing of the White
Jast acre— the street, too, other government employes were preparing the
•oM 11 sir" of the secretary of the navy
in the state, war and navy building for
tewmorary ocenpaaey.
Because of the inconvenience that
win be caned his staff and the curtailment it will force in his visitors'
list, Mr. Hoover decided to have the
restoration of his office quarters speeded up. While he has long felt that
more adequate quarters were, needed
for the executive staff, the length of
time that would necessarily be lost in
planning and constructing an ante*
elsewhere Is thought to have persuaded
him against seeking an entirely new
building at this time.
-Terming the destroyed presidential
workshop as "cramped, inadequate and
inferior," Iteprescntative Britten, republican. Illinois, said he would lay before
Chairman Klliott of the houv public
buildings committee, two suggestions
for housing the osnees.
He proposed that the eastern side of
the state, war and navy building he
turned over to the chief executive, or
that an elaborate marble building be
constructed south of the White house.
If the offices In the state war building
are selected, Representative Britten will
have excavated a tnnnel under West
Executive avenue, which separates the
structure from the White house.
Contradicting previous conclusions the
chief engineer of the District of Columbia ire department today blamed the
blase on an overheated flue in the office
of Walter Newton, one of the presidential secretaries. It irsl was blamed on
defective wiring, hat investigation by
the chief engineer and others was said
to have failed to reveal any wires which
had been short circuited.
When the "president occupies rooms
in the state, war and navy building, he
will have on* of the stateliest suites in
that structure. Used of late years by
Gen. John J. Pershing in his capacity
as general of the armies, the apartment
is richly furnished and decorated. Until
the regime of Josephus Daniels, it was
occupied by the secretary of the navy,
but that office was moved during the
war to the temporary navy building
several blocks away.
Not AiiCrowd But A Mob Filled
Masonic Hall For Masquerade
The annual inasrpicrade of Modern
Woodmen of America. Tuesday night,
at Masnuk- hall, drew the multitude.
They were here from everywhere, and
if the hall had been only a box car.
it could not have been more jammed.
Dancing was not good on account of
crowds, but those who got anywhere
enjoyed themselves. Music was .good.
everybody felt good, and all went home
happy.
Judges who awarded prizes listed Ik--
low were: Ladies--Ruby Davis, lone
Williams. Iluby <;. Travel*. Gentlemen
-.r.. T. Williams. C. W. Campbell A. K.
Kllison.
Ladies: Original. Bertha Duncan;
Norwegian. Bertha Haisland; milk maid,
Mrs. Sam Green; negro, Dorothy Mc-
Adams; flower girl. Mrs. A. A. I .amp:
Scotch lassie. Mrs. W. D. McKcnxie:
butterfly. Margaret McKenxie; housewife. Mrs. Tom Berlaud; witch, Henri-!
etta Egelaud: cowgirl. Mar;- Ncvin:'
waitress, Mae Duffey: best dressed. Mrs.
W. G. Aller; Spanish, Irrna Stokke; sustained lady. Paul Van Cleve: artistic.
Mrs. Walter Kennedy; comical. Mrs.
Cecil liraley; Japanese. Mrs. Arthur T.
Kllison: bride iiihI groom, Kthel Manis
and .Theodora Sat re.
Gentlemen: Original A. A. I.amp: full
dress couple. Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Aller;
dude. Gene Parker: Turk. Bob Hart:
Incle Sam. Arthur IK-ley; Indian, George
Smith; golf costume. C. A. Herges; second best Uncle Sam. Henry Esp; fat
man. Clarence Shipton; butcher. Jacob
t.-bnson; Dutchman. Paul Lamp; Norwegian, Oscar Host ad; .liggs. Hay Harper; clown. Charles Sloan; farmer, Arthur T. Kllison; sailor, E. J. Ifusebye:
holio. Martin Stokke; soldier, \V. .1. Hannah; Hooligan. Verne Doddy; Jew. Olaf
Ostrcm: tramp, Carl Price; cowboy.
Walter Heacox: iceman, Ed Thompson;
family group, Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Bailey; old-fashioned schoolboy. Herman
Sanders; Spanish. Iliinny Beley.
Stafford Talks About j What Montana Scored
Montana As Producer Against Other States
HELENA, Ike. *».—Development of
Montana's resources along agricultural,
industrial and recreational lines will In-
given consideration at. a Munlai a development congress to be held in Helena
on Monday and Tuesday, February '.M
and 25, A. II. Stafford, commissioner of
agriculture, labor and industry, announced today.
Under a call to be issued shortly, representation at the congress will he requested of state and local commercial.
civic, agricultural ami industrial organizations. Every" effort, Mr. Stafford said
will be made to bring together men from
all parts of the state who are interested
in the welfare of Montana, and wilt give
support to such plans as may be formulated.
Put pom of the conference, as now outlined, is to give thought to questions
affecting reclamation projects, agricultural development, utilisation of lands.
recreational possibilities, mining and in
dustrial expansion. These topics will Input before the congress by selected
speakers and then given over to discussion for dcinite action by the organization.
The plan has had the attention of
Commissioner Stafford for some lime.
His decision to call the meeting was
reached ,only after consultation with
leading men from various parts of the
stale, he said.- A formal program will
be announced when speakers tentatively
selected have signified their acccpUiicc
IIKLKNA. Dec. :«.- Where and bow
does Montana stand with relation to
other states'.' How do her industrial,
agricultural and natural assets rank with
other districts in the United Slates?
This qucsiou is succinctly answered
by the state department of agriculture.
Montana's oWcial standing is as follews:
First in public health, national parks
area, national forests, virgi nfarm lands
,-iihI production of arsenic, manganese
ami precious stones.
Second in wool, silver and spring
wheat.
Third in siae, wheat, slieep. copper,
coal resources, percentage of home owners and freedom from illiteracy.
Fourth in irrigated lands, flax, cherries, sine, durum wheat aad national
forest stamp*gc.
Kith in farm land ana.
Sixth in lead, rye and wild hay.
Seventh in alfalfa seed, beans and
waterpower.
Eighth in natural ga» output, gold
and sugar heels.
Tenth In petroleum production.
Thirteenth in barley.
Fourteenth in |»cr capita wealth and
hay production.
Sevcnthleenth in oats and livestock.
Twentieth in lumber production.
Twenty-eighth in potato production.
Thirty-third in number of dairy cattle
Thirty-fifth in apples.
Thirty-ninth in population.
Helena Independent: t'nder the 7
per cent federal aid highway system
adopted in Montana in 1927, the total;
mileage of federal aid roads approved
was 4.673 miles. Qf this 2,'ittl miles
have been constructed, and there remains to be completed 'J.'Wl miles, according to a statement just given out
by the state highway commission. That
constructed by Hie slate from I!ri7 to
1929. inclusive, was »7S miles, ami the
construction with highway forest funds
was 218 miles
It will b«> observed Hint the work of
building federal aid highways in Montana has become accelerated during the
last three years, (he amount of road and
bridges lniilt every year exceeding the
previous year. .
The total number of construction contracts let in the three years was 150.
of which 47 were let in 1<K7. Hi in 1TO«
ami .j7 in 1939. Bridge contracts in lh.it
period numbered 8.1. of which 'JI wen-
let the first year. 27 tlie second and 'XI
the third. The lolal of road and bridge
contracts in the three years was !M3.
The statement gives in detail the work
done and the cost. Improvements of
previonsly graded roads hi 1927 came to
.TJ1/- miles, at a cost of >f 101,761; grading
in I hat year totaled .19 miles and grading and surfacing 100 miles. The new
mileage was 27ft miles and a half. Surfacing amounted to over 'l\ miles and
resurfacing to more than seven miles.
The total mileage that year was over
.107 miles. The cost was s?2,9M.«89.71.
In 1923 the total mileage of all kinds
of construction nod improvement was
nearly ,157 miles, at a total cost of *X-
479£'i9. In 1939 the total mileage of
such construction was nearly 617 miles,
at a cost of £4.509.947. The total of such
construction for I be three years was
nearly t«l miles at a total Cost of *ln,-
941. 1*6.
The average cost |>er mile of all kinds
of const ruction was *H.424.IK. This varied from i£t..Tt.1..14 for road liettcrmciit
to aiiffiUkTMO for bridge construction.
piled children six and eight deep on a
stairway.
There was a parallel, too, between
the households visited by death and the
scene which the children hnd just witnessed on the screen. The feature film
of the 5|>ecial holiday matinee had portrayed the story of "'One of the Crowd."
It had worked up n big scene which
showed a working class mother and father looking out of a window just in
lime to see their child struck down in
the street by an automobile. The childish exclamations of sympathy which
this scene evoked were interrupted by
the old. old panic signal of "lire!"
Then came bedlam. The youngsters
sprang from their scats and dashed toward the exits in blind terror. They
scrambled over chairs, fell in aisles.
They shrieked '•.Mamma," or "Daddy,™
or "Sister." They scratched each other.
They fought and the younger and weaker went down under the older ones.
I'p in the projection box the assistant operator had noticed smoke coming
from the case containing the film which
had just been rewound. He grabbed
this case and tried to curry it out of
the Ituildiug without alarming the audience. But it was so hot that he could
not'gel beyond the vestibule.
There he called for the manager, and
between the two of them the box was
thrown out a side door. Both suffered
burns on their hands.
The smell of fumes from the lilin case
and the commotion caused by its being
thrown through the door were what
really started the panic. The children
rushed to the opposite side of the theater, away from the ftimes-, hut had only
trapped themselves. The manager pleaded with them to come hack and go out
the open exit, ImiI liny did not heed him.
Instead the terror stricken youngsters
fought lo get on| a door Unit was literally jammed. They pulled themselves
breast high while wave after wave of
carlMin monoxide rushed over them, asphyxiating those who were not crushed
to death in the first rush.
Another section of the panic-stricken
audience started down the stairway from
Ihe balcony. One of them stumbled.
Others fell with him-and' the- conditions
al the jammed exit were repeated at
the foot of the steps.
Word of the tragedy went through
the town like wildtire. Even Ik-fore tho
Continued on last page
Big Reward Offered In
St. Louis For Wretch
ST. LOUIS. Dec. 27.-Hesentment and
auger toward the person responsible
for sewing up Ihe mouth of a Mitall dog
and leaving it to starve a week ago,
continued to mount in the breasts of
residents in all walks of life. Eagerness
to mete out punishment c.iused the
total rewards offered to reach 3l,n7S.$5.
All day today the telephones in the
office of the Humane Society of Missouri, under which the search for the
perpetrator is being made, were busy.
School children, pledging their few iconics to £100 offers from laisiness ineu
are coming in.
The dog was found by Itobert K. Sel-
far. executive secretary of the society,
after a woman had called asking it to
he put out of its misery. Scllar. in examining the animal, discovered a person
unskilled in surgery had sewed ils
mouth shut with eight stitches, using
a tough twine. The animal had apparently lieen in thai condition for several
days. II was painlessly killed.
KLEIN WINER SUICIDES AFTER AUTO
WRECKJTAKES LIFE OF OLD FRIEND
Hillings Gatvttc: While authorities
were investigating an automobile wreck
which claimed the life of one man and
injured another early Thursday morning, (ienrge llerdar. 47. Klein mine boss
»nd driver of the wrecked machine, shot
and killed himself in a Ht of despondency. His body was found in * conk*
a mile from the mine «" which he had
Iwcn employed for 18 years.
Hetumiug from a Christmas celebration at Roundup. IK-nlar momentarily
lost control of the light truck lie was
driving. The machine crashed into a
guard rail on a railroad bridge in Klein
and npset, fatally crashing A. Delsonto.
53, also employed as a miner. Joe Delsonto, a younger brother, and Berdar
escaped the wreck with slight injuries.
When Musselshell connty authorities
arrived they found the elder Desonto
lying near the truck, his head crushed.
Shortly after arrival of the coroner,
llerdar went to his home near by.
After a sleepless night during which
he continually recalled the many years
of friendship with the dead man. the
mine boss arose early and left his home
shortly after 6 o'clock, presumably to go
to the Republic mine, where ne was employed.
A short time after his departure, Mrs.
Herdor missed the family revolver, kept
in a kitchen cupboard. A searching
party was organized at once and took
tip the hunt for the grief-crazed miner.
The search ended shortly after 1 o'clock
Thursday afternoon, when llenlar's body
was found slumped in Sawmill coulee.
The pistol was near by. One shell had
been discharged, the bullet striking Berdar in the forehead ami Inflicted instantaneous death.
Meanwhile, after investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident,
the coroner bekl the accident unavoidable, and attached no blame to the
drixer. Xo inquest will be held to investigate the second tragedy. *
The accident took place within a short
distance of the scene where Barney
Benson, also a miner, shot and killed
four of his family ami then committed
suicide on Labor day. The bridge spans
a railroad crossing on the Blllings-
Hbundup road on the outskirts of "the
little mining town.
Joe Delsonto was severely cut and
bruised when the windshield shattered.
His condition is not regarded as serious.
Berdar suffered only slight injuries, although badly shaken when the machine
overturned.
The two brothers had lived in and
around Klein for 15 years. Both were
employed as miners, and were intimate
friend., of Berdar.
llerdar came to Klein from Pueblo,
Colo.. 18 years ago. He entered the
employ of the Republic mines and had
worked for that company until his
death. He is survived by his widow,
two sons, two daughters and his aged
parents, who live at ftlbbtown. a mining
settlement near hy.
S^aacsr.-- - =r.n^ -ufM- * jrn»»»» »

This collection encompasses the Big Timber Pioneer Newspaper published from 1893-2000.

Creator

Williams, Jerome

Genre

newspapers

Type

text

Language

eng

Date Original

1930

Subject

Big Timber (Mont.), Sweet Grass County, (Mont.), Newspapers

Rights Management

Copyright to this collection is held by Yellowstone Newspaper Group, Livingston, Montana. Permission may be required for use and/or reproductions. Items published before 1923 are in the public domain.

Contributing Institution

Big Timber Carnegie Public Library

Geographic Coverage

Big Timber (Mont.); Sweet Grass County (Mont.)

Digital Collection

Big Timber Pioneer Newspaper

Digital Format

image/tiff

Digitization Specifications

Microfilm scanned at 300 dpi, 8 bit gray scale

Date Digitized

2013

Transcript

Of
2*'04C
®°0/
N
/
The Big
VOLUME 41. No.i.
BIG UMBER. SWEET GHASS Ct)lJNTVpl<>NJAN \. THURSDAY, JANUARY 2,1990.
PRICE 5 CENTS
SENATOR BORAH STARTS
TUMULT OVER DRY ISSUE
President Hoover Calls In Senator To Discuss
Situation—Nothing Told Except That Dry
Law Will Soon Be Enforced
WASHINGTON, Dec. 'M.—President
Hoover is planning a shake up in prohibition enforcement personnel and
other measures of a broad character to
improve enforcement a* a reralt of re-
newed aKHation by congressional dry*,
led by Senator Horah of Idaho.
Th« measures to be taken other than
personnel changes, will be along lines
recommended by the president's law-
enforcement commission, in reports to
be issued soon after the new year.
The treasury also will submit recommendations to congress, the first of
which was announced Thursday as unifications of border patrol agencies and
limitation of ports of entry on both the
Mexican hi id Canadian borders to "bottle
up" the Ixirders.
The recent agitation came to a climax
Thursday when the president had Corah.
his staunch prohibition campaigner of a
year ago. hut now chief critic of I lie administration's policy, at the White house
for lunch. They talked about the prohibition situation, and specifically, it is
understood, about the Idaho senator's
recent sweeping condemnation of enforcement personnel.
Borah would not discuss the conference, and it was said at the White house
only that the president and the Idaho
senator had discussed prohibition. The
invitation was issued Tuesday, before
Borah made his attack on the administration, George Akerson. the president's
secretary, said. -
The meeting between tlie two men
who have drifted apart on other issues
followed the vigorous assault by Itorah
and other drys which Wednesday evoked
replies from Attorney General.Mitchellj
and Prohibition Commissioner Dorau. |
and Thursday brought an announcement j
of border enforcement plans from \s-
sistant Secretary of Treasury Mills. I
Considerable secrecy at first had been i
thrown about the luncheon conference •
between the president and Horah. It was,
learned that he had gone to the White;
house, but no announcement was made.
until in the afternoon that he had {
talked with the president. Horah de-.
clined to talk when seen at his eapitnl'
o#Jcc later. "*'
Mills said the treasury would make
its border enforcement recommomlation
to the joint congressional committee'
which is to study reorganization of cn-j
forerincnt machinery as soon as thai
committee is organized. The senate, approved this committee, and y resolution
is pending in the house.
"Instead of permitting persons to enter the United States from Canada at
any point on the international boundary
as we now do, wc should designate certain roads for entry purposes and prohibit persons from crossing the border
at any other point" Mills said. "Persons arc now required to report at the
nearest customs house, but we have to
maintain a large patrol to see that they
do so."
An agreement with Canada would be
necessary, he explained. The treasury's
plans, he added, are piratically completed and only await appointment of
the joint committee.
Senator Harris, d]cmnci-al. Georgia,
who started the agitation which ended
in Dorah's visit to the While house,
said Thursday that lie agreed with the
Idaho senator that enforcement personnel should be improved.
More money is needed for enforcement so that a higher type of men can
be employed, he said.
The Georgia senator ;isks the president, in a pending resolution, to submit
his own recommendations as to prohibition appropriations, along with a request
for a preliminary report from the law
enforcement commission.
President Hoover was defended Thurs-
Con tin tied on page three
MILL TOWN IN SCOTLAND
SCENE OF DEATH PANIC
Cry of "Fire" In Movie Show Stampedes Little
Children—Seventy-Two Trampled and
Suffocated—Others Injured
Florida Frosts Hit
Fruit Crop Severely
JACKSONVILLE. Fla.. IXc. 'J7. Severe
frost and cold wind caused damage in
some, tracking sections of the state reports to the state marketing bureau
showed Friday, beans, strawberries.
peppers, tomatoes and egg plant appeared to have been the heaviest sufferers, but the damage was not general to
the whole producing area.
The bureau's report from Plant City
said that approximately 15 per cent of
the strawberry crop had been covered
against the cold, but that of the rest,
approximately IS to 7S per cent of the
■fruit and bloom were lost. Alttnit 90
per cent of the strawlwrry crop was
killed at Starke and vicinity.
Beans in this section were virtually
wiped out, read the report from Fort
Myers, which added thai egg plants
suffered a 10 per rent loss while peppers, tomatoes and other vegetables were j
only slightly hurt.
Tender growing crops were severely
injured by the cold through a wide area.)
f about 'J00 fret in an effort to
gain altitude. Then it suddenly slip|K>d
into a nose dive, turning over three
times in its downward plunge and hilling the earth flat. The crowd which
rushed to the craft found all the occupants dead except Dillon. He died in
an ambulance without regaining consciousness.
Damage to the plane was slight because of the unusual manner in which
it leveled off before crashing.
Lieutenant Gray was an rxiwricnced
pilot wlio had a distinguished record as
a World war flyer. After the war he
wcnl to Australia, returning to the
United States three years ago.
He was transferred to the airport
here from Dallas two weeks ago as
division manager. He is survived by his
molhcr and sister, who came here recently from Australia. Lieutenant Gray
and his wife also are survived by a
small son. about 15 months old.
A wire from Berkeley. Cal.. Thursday
night of last week announced the death"
of Ituth Sheridan, for many years deputy
postmaster under her mother. Mrs". A.
C. Sheridan, and at three elections a successful candidate for county clerk and
recorder. Death came after several years
of intense suffering.
Deceased was Xi years of age bnrn at
Ik-I| Cascade county. Montana, and came
here in HJfll. when the father, ,1. K. Sheridan, took charge of the Big Timber
Pioneer. February 22. I9«W. Mr. Sheridan died suddenly in the dooryard of
his home, having put the Pioneer for
that week in the post office In-fore leaving for the family residence.
1'onn bis death Mrs. Sheridan was
named postmaster for liig T>ml»cr. holding that office until she tired of the
place and resigned. H. C. I lade succeeding her.
The last year of the administration of
•lohi» E. Cameron as county clerk. APss
Sheridan left the pnslnffice and went to
the court house as deputy county cle.rU.
Iji l!t|S Mr. Cameron decided he hud sufficient of the office, and Miss Sheridan
lileil as a republican candidate. It was
the tlrst real opportunity voters of Sweet
Crass county had been given to show
their appreciation of courtesies shown
in th« post office, and in the election of
.t!:;.l iear Mis* Sheridan was an easy
winner |„ 1*20 she was again a candidate, and in ISTJ2. the only tint*, she
had real opposition, was reelected by
around fftJO majority.
I nl!)2:< her physical c. Clark MeKenzie. residing
west of Hig Timber. Another sister.
Ksthcr, died in Minnesota a short time
ago.
The remains arrived this morning
from Berkeley. Cal.. accompanied by
Mrs. \. C. Sheridan and daughter, Mrs.
Mar.y N'agle. J Requiem mass was said
at St. Joseph's church nt 10 o'clock this
morning, interment being in Mountain
View by the side of the father of deceased.
Pallbearers were A. L. Phillips. W. A.
Conwell. Alva L. Lamb. D. V. Higbie,
Clyde K. Davis and G. Hen Lamb.
PAIS1.KY. Scotland. Dec. 31.—Scventy-
tw0 small boys and girls of this Scottish
ntill town were killed and four score
nthers xerv injured in a panic which
followed a cry of "Are" in a moving
picture theater here late Tuesday afternoon. It was a black New Year's eve
for this murky community.
The children came from working class
families. They crowded into tlie 750-
seat theater, singing and' (lancing and
excited over the prospect of spending
their "Hogmanay." the traditional Scottish New- Year's treat which outshines
Christinas north of the Tweed.
Hut in a few minutes their gay laughter had given way to shrieks of terror
and agony? A whisp of smoke had come
out of the projection box of the theater.
Someone ericd "lire'' and in an instant
the hundreds of youngsters were scrambling and scratching over each other
in an effort to gel out of what proved
to Ik- a death trap.
The catastrophe quickly became a
combined reproduction of the IMS Iri-
quois theater lire in Chicago and the
IMinic at a miners' Christmas party at
Calumet, Mich., in years later. Like the
Chicago affair many of the viclmis perished through inhalation of noxious
fumes, and. like the Calumet panic,
many others met death when the rush
Montana Benefits By
Federal Highway Aid
HISTORIC OUARTERSIN WASHINGTON
ARE USED FOR PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE
WASHINGTON, Dee. 27—For
day the thirty-ant president of the
UnHed States did hit routine oafce work
in the study replete with memories of
other presidents from Adams to Roosevelt, who directed the affairs of tha
nation from where: Herbert Hoover spent
most of today at *n unfamiliar desk.
A few hundred feet away laborers
were hammering and scraping to adjust
the wreckage of the.president's office
building. The busyness was preparatory to restoring the ire ruined structure, upon Mr. Hoover's order, so that
the ease* work of the vast eaatnthr*
duties can he risanui aa aauchljr as
poulMe at the west wing of the White
Jast acre— the street, too, other government employes were preparing the
•oM 11 sir" of the secretary of the navy
in the state, war and navy building for
tewmorary ocenpaaey.
Because of the inconvenience that
win be caned his staff and the curtailment it will force in his visitors'
list, Mr. Hoover decided to have the
restoration of his office quarters speeded up. While he has long felt that
more adequate quarters were, needed
for the executive staff, the length of
time that would necessarily be lost in
planning and constructing an ante*
elsewhere Is thought to have persuaded
him against seeking an entirely new
building at this time.
-Terming the destroyed presidential
workshop as "cramped, inadequate and
inferior" Iteprescntative Britten, republican. Illinois, said he would lay before
Chairman Klliott of the houv public
buildings committee, two suggestions
for housing the osnees.
He proposed that the eastern side of
the state, war and navy building he
turned over to the chief executive, or
that an elaborate marble building be
constructed south of the White house.
If the offices In the state war building
are selected, Representative Britten will
have excavated a tnnnel under West
Executive avenue, which separates the
structure from the White house.
Contradicting previous conclusions the
chief engineer of the District of Columbia ire department today blamed the
blase on an overheated flue in the office
of Walter Newton, one of the presidential secretaries. It irsl was blamed on
defective wiring, hat investigation by
the chief engineer and others was said
to have failed to reveal any wires which
had been short circuited.
When the "president occupies rooms
in the state, war and navy building, he
will have on* of the stateliest suites in
that structure. Used of late years by
Gen. John J. Pershing in his capacity
as general of the armies, the apartment
is richly furnished and decorated. Until
the regime of Josephus Daniels, it was
occupied by the secretary of the navy,
but that office was moved during the
war to the temporary navy building
several blocks away.
Not AiiCrowd But A Mob Filled
Masonic Hall For Masquerade
The annual inasrpicrade of Modern
Woodmen of America. Tuesday night,
at Masnuk- hall, drew the multitude.
They were here from everywhere, and
if the hall had been only a box car.
it could not have been more jammed.
Dancing was not good on account of
crowds, but those who got anywhere
enjoyed themselves. Music was .good.
everybody felt good, and all went home
happy.
Judges who awarded prizes listed Ik--
low were: Ladies--Ruby Davis, lone
Williams. Iluby observed Hint the work of
building federal aid highways in Montana has become accelerated during the
last three years, (he amount of road and
bridges lniilt every year exceeding the
previous year. .
The total number of construction contracts let in the three years was 150.
of which 47 were let in 1f 101,761; grading
in I hat year totaled .19 miles and grading and surfacing 100 miles. The new
mileage was 27ft miles and a half. Surfacing amounted to over 'l\ miles and
resurfacing to more than seven miles.
The total mileage that year was over
.107 miles. The cost was s?2,9M.«89.71.
In 1923 the total mileage of all kinds
of construction nod improvement was
nearly ,157 miles, at a total cost of *X-
479£'i9. In 1939 the total mileage of
such construction was nearly 617 miles,
at a cost of £4.509.947. The total of such
construction for I be three years was
nearly t«l miles at a total Cost of *ln,-
941. 1*6.
The average cost |>er mile of all kinds
of const ruction was *H.424.IK. This varied from i£t..Tt.1..14 for road liettcrmciit
to aiiffiUkTMO for bridge construction.
piled children six and eight deep on a
stairway.
There was a parallel, too, between
the households visited by death and the
scene which the children hnd just witnessed on the screen. The feature film
of the 5|>ecial holiday matinee had portrayed the story of "'One of the Crowd."
It had worked up n big scene which
showed a working class mother and father looking out of a window just in
lime to see their child struck down in
the street by an automobile. The childish exclamations of sympathy which
this scene evoked were interrupted by
the old. old panic signal of "lire!"
Then came bedlam. The youngsters
sprang from their scats and dashed toward the exits in blind terror. They
scrambled over chairs, fell in aisles.
They shrieked '•.Mamma" or "Daddy,™
or "Sister." They scratched each other.
They fought and the younger and weaker went down under the older ones.
I'p in the projection box the assistant operator had noticed smoke coming
from the case containing the film which
had just been rewound. He grabbed
this case and tried to curry it out of
the Ituildiug without alarming the audience. But it was so hot that he could
not'gel beyond the vestibule.
There he called for the manager, and
between the two of them the box was
thrown out a side door. Both suffered
burns on their hands.
The smell of fumes from the lilin case
and the commotion caused by its being
thrown through the door were what
really started the panic. The children
rushed to the opposite side of the theater, away from the ftimes-, hut had only
trapped themselves. The manager pleaded with them to come hack and go out
the open exit, ImiI liny did not heed him.
Instead the terror stricken youngsters
fought lo get on| a door Unit was literally jammed. They pulled themselves
breast high while wave after wave of
carlMin monoxide rushed over them, asphyxiating those who were not crushed
to death in the first rush.
Another section of the panic-stricken
audience started down the stairway from
Ihe balcony. One of them stumbled.
Others fell with him-and' the- conditions
al the jammed exit were repeated at
the foot of the steps.
Word of the tragedy went through
the town like wildtire. Even Ik-fore tho
Continued on last page
Big Reward Offered In
St. Louis For Wretch
ST. LOUIS. Dec. 27.-Hesentment and
auger toward the person responsible
for sewing up Ihe mouth of a Mitall dog
and leaving it to starve a week ago,
continued to mount in the breasts of
residents in all walks of life. Eagerness
to mete out punishment c.iused the
total rewards offered to reach 3l,n7S.$5.
All day today the telephones in the
office of the Humane Society of Missouri, under which the search for the
perpetrator is being made, were busy.
School children, pledging their few iconics to £100 offers from laisiness ineu
are coming in.
The dog was found by Itobert K. Sel-
far. executive secretary of the society,
after a woman had called asking it to
he put out of its misery. Scllar. in examining the animal, discovered a person
unskilled in surgery had sewed ils
mouth shut with eight stitches, using
a tough twine. The animal had apparently lieen in thai condition for several
days. II was painlessly killed.
KLEIN WINER SUICIDES AFTER AUTO
WRECKJTAKES LIFE OF OLD FRIEND
Hillings Gatvttc: While authorities
were investigating an automobile wreck
which claimed the life of one man and
injured another early Thursday morning, (ienrge llerdar. 47. Klein mine boss
»nd driver of the wrecked machine, shot
and killed himself in a Ht of despondency. His body was found in * conk*
a mile from the mine «" which he had
Iwcn employed for 18 years.
Hetumiug from a Christmas celebration at Roundup. IK-nlar momentarily
lost control of the light truck lie was
driving. The machine crashed into a
guard rail on a railroad bridge in Klein
and npset, fatally crashing A. Delsonto.
53, also employed as a miner. Joe Delsonto, a younger brother, and Berdar
escaped the wreck with slight injuries.
When Musselshell connty authorities
arrived they found the elder Desonto
lying near the truck, his head crushed.
Shortly after arrival of the coroner,
llerdar went to his home near by.
After a sleepless night during which
he continually recalled the many years
of friendship with the dead man. the
mine boss arose early and left his home
shortly after 6 o'clock, presumably to go
to the Republic mine, where ne was employed.
A short time after his departure, Mrs.
Herdor missed the family revolver, kept
in a kitchen cupboard. A searching
party was organized at once and took
tip the hunt for the grief-crazed miner.
The search ended shortly after 1 o'clock
Thursday afternoon, when llenlar's body
was found slumped in Sawmill coulee.
The pistol was near by. One shell had
been discharged, the bullet striking Berdar in the forehead ami Inflicted instantaneous death.
Meanwhile, after investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident,
the coroner bekl the accident unavoidable, and attached no blame to the
drixer. Xo inquest will be held to investigate the second tragedy. *
The accident took place within a short
distance of the scene where Barney
Benson, also a miner, shot and killed
four of his family ami then committed
suicide on Labor day. The bridge spans
a railroad crossing on the Blllings-
Hbundup road on the outskirts of "the
little mining town.
Joe Delsonto was severely cut and
bruised when the windshield shattered.
His condition is not regarded as serious.
Berdar suffered only slight injuries, although badly shaken when the machine
overturned.
The two brothers had lived in and
around Klein for 15 years. Both were
employed as miners, and were intimate
friend., of Berdar.
llerdar came to Klein from Pueblo,
Colo.. 18 years ago. He entered the
employ of the Republic mines and had
worked for that company until his
death. He is survived by his widow,
two sons, two daughters and his aged
parents, who live at ftlbbtown. a mining
settlement near hy.
S^aacsr.-- - =r.n^ -ufM- * jrn»»»» »